Over the past several weeks, I've become intrigued with the concept of rest.
Taking breaks. Meditating. Getting a proper eight hours of sleep. That kind of thing.
I'm not just intrigued with the concept of rest, but also society's acceptance of how we rest.
Mainly that we don't get enough. And that's okay.
We power through the day. Pride ourselves on 80-hour work weeks. Sleeping four hours a night in the name of work. And, we unknowingly impress those values on our kids.
But, here's the big problem.
Whether it's middle-school students or CEO's.
We have people who get maybe five hours of sleep a night, and they believe they're doing great.
And they might be.
The may be getting straight A's. They may be bringing in that six-figure income. By a number of conventional standards, they're considered "successful."
But, here's a paradigm shift for you.
I would pose that they're not successful because they power through, don't sleep, and don't take breaks.
But, they're successful despite the fact they don't get enough sleep or take breaks.
Straight A's and large incomes are nice. But it must feel miserable doing it like that. Being exhausted all the time? And having all those side effects of being overtired, like irritability?
Not to mention the mental and physical health issues waiting down the road.
This will be the last of my "people need to get more rest" posts for a while.
But, if you're feeling that exhaustion. If you feel like you're getting stuff done, but are miserable while doing it.
Try taking a 30-minute break today. A real break. Do nothing. Or maybe take a walk.
Or, try getting a few more hours of sleep.
Will the world end tomorrow? Doubtful. But, there's a good chance you'll not only get more done, but also feel good while doing it.